Did the 'Trouble With Girls' show the trouble with Rochdale?

Anyone that tuned in to BBC 2 last night will have seen another damning indictment of life for three Rochdale teenagers.

'The Trouble With Girls: Three Girls and Three Babies' aired at 9pm and followed three girls from the town over the course of a year as they deal with pregnancy and decide what they are going to do with their lives.

The real-life soap opera explored the lives of 16-year olds Becki, Vanessa and Stacey, who have been best friends since they were five.

When Becki falls pregnant by her 26-year old boyfriend the other two girls say that girls who get pregnant in their teens are stupid. Stacey and Vanessa instead spend their time sciving school and getting into trouble with the police.

With offensive language and racial slurs aplenty, the programme showed a side to life in the town that would shame a lot of residents, although it would be harsh to relate the three girls in the show to to the state of the town in general and many would say that the documentary makers could go to any town in the country and find a similar situation.

Rochdale residents have been airing their views having watched the programme last night.
David Chaffey said: "The programme made me feel a bit better about being born in Bury! These people should not be allowed to have children."

Josh Booth thought the programme was a fair reflection of the town. He said: "The BBC had it completely right, I can't wait to get out of this dive."

But Sarah Lomas believes it would be unfair to generalise the town based on the programme. She said: "They didn't even mention places like Shawclough where I live, or Norden, Bamford, Littleborough and Smithy Bridge."

Colin Wild said: "The programme showed that the underclass is what's wrong with society. Granted it was set in Rochdale but it could have been any town these days."

Paul Smith said: "I felt ashamed to live in Rochdale. I told my friends not to watch it!"

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